title: Radiative transfer theory verified by controlled laboratory experiments.
abstract: We report the results of high-accuracy controlled laboratory measurements of the Stokes reflection matrix for suspensions of submicrometer-sized latex particles in water and compare them with the results of a numerically exact computer solution of the vector radiative transfer equation (VRTE). The quantitative performance of the VRTE is monitored by increasing the volume packing density of the latex particles from 2% to 10%. Our results indicate that the VRTE can be applied safely to random particulate media with packing densities up to ∼2%. VRTE results for packing densities of the order of 5% should be taken with caution, whereas the polarized bidirectional reflectivity of suspensions with larger packing densities cannot be accurately predicted. We demonstrate that a simple modification of the phase matrix entering the VRTE based on the so-called static structure factor can be a promising remedy that deserves further examination.
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Mishchenko
authors.forename: Dennis H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chowdhary
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lompado